Did you play D&D?

[Almighty Colin]

ATLANTA, Georgia (AP) -- Dungeons & Dragons players gathered in game stores around the country Saturday to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the grandfather of fantasy role-playing games -- a pop culture phenomenon that has influenced myriad video games, books and movies.

An estimated 25,000 fans in 1,200 stores celebrated the anniversary Saturday, said Charles Ryan, brand manager for role-playing games at Wizards of the Coast, a Renton, Washington, company that owns Dungeons & Dragons.

Shaunnon Drake was at Batty's Best Comics & Games, where gamers ranging in age from their early teens to mid-30s munched pizza and played D&D through the afternoon. Some said they spend three nights a week or more playing.

"The game allows you to live through your character your favorite fantasy books," said Drake, sporting an airbrushed T-shirt of himself as a "Game Master" surrounded by flying dragons and other beasts.

In 1974, 1,000 brown-and-white boxes filled with pamphlets for "Fantastic Medieval Wargames" were distributed by a couple of guys who liked war role-playing and decided to set a game in the Middle Ages but with monsters and fantastic heroes.

Dungeons & Dragons went on to become one of the best-selling games of all time, inspiring fan devotion so great that some travel thousands of miles to play in tournaments.

There have been Dungeons & Dragons books, movies, puzzles, even a Saturday-morning cartoon show.

The game peaked in the 1980s, but there are plenty of fans left. Some 4 million people play D&D regularly. Many of them laugh at a common suggestion that fantasy gamers are geeks: Of course they are, they say.

"I think a lot of people who get drawn to this game are loners, but here's a real opportunity to come out of that shell and feel safe about it," said fan Mitch Hamburger, 32.

The game's influence on later computer game designers is impossible to miss, said Dave Arneson, who created Dungeons & Dragons with Gary Gygax and now teaches computer game design.

"It influences all the video game designers," Arneson said. "They were geeks just like we were geeks."

The popularity of the Harry Potter books and the "Lord of the Rings" movies is bringing young new fans to the game, said Ryan. Dungeons & Dragons makers released a new starter set game this summer as a result.

Game designers had worried that the intense devotion of longtime D&D fans -- and the accompanying lingo and even costumes -- would turn off new players who felt the game was too confusing to learn.

But the young fans, and the continuing popularity of fantasy books and movies, will keep Dungeons & Dragons alive, Drake said.

"It's definitely a family game now, where you have people teaching their kids the game and keeping it going," he said. "It's just going to get bigger and bigger. It's basically the new cowboys-and-Indians game. With wolves."

[Mike AI]

I used to play for years....

basicly stopped once computer games came around.

I think today's children miss out in using their imaginations - which was needed to paly D&D. Now every game has sophisticated graphics - does all the work for kids.

[Opti]

I was secretly jealous of how much fun the D&D kids had.. but I still poked fun at them :P

Squad Leader and Diplomacy were the role playing games for the "cool kids" :)

[TheEnforcer]

I most certainly did. Stopped when I got to high school though. Loved playing and would like to play again. I have two old Players handbook and Dungeon master guide books from WAY back when. Lost some of the cooler books I had like Deities and Demigods, which while a D & D book, was also an extremely useful referance tool for anyone into mythology.

[Anthony]

It's been years.

I loved RPG's.

[dig420]

Sure did. I remember crying when my uber character Kelmstaff got whacked lol

I've tried some online role-playing games like DAOC but was pretty disappointed. Either the genre doesn't translate well or I just outgrew it.

Anyone got any really good RPG's they've found?

[dig420]

Originally posted by Anthony@Oct 17 2004, 08:14 PM
It's been years.

I loved RPG's.
we had some pretty damn good StarCraft tournaments too ;)

[cj]

ok, we are all officially OLD!!!!!

I wasn't yet double figures old though when I played DD, so i'm still only borderlining on old :biglaugh:

[Anthony]

Originally posted by dig420+Oct 17 2004, 05:23 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (dig420 @ Oct 17 2004, 05:23 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-Anthony@Oct 17 2004, 08:14 PM
It's been years.

I loved RPG's.
we had some pretty damn good StarCraft tournaments too ;) [/b][/quote]
Yah, loved Star Craft! :)

Haven't had a chance to play War Craft in a coon's age.

Been playing tournaments on Battle Net using the DOTA map.

6 versus 6.

I pwns da wittle kiddies

[OldJeff]

For a long long time.

Still do, sort of.

Neverwinter Nights is a pretty good computer game, based on the 3 edition.

Great packaged "adventures" and the amount of stuff you can download is amazing.

Joined some online games a few times, I think there are more people there than surfing adult sites.

Everquest is another popular online FRPG, and those people are crazy. Some have paid as much as half a million for a "virtual castle"

[Almighty Colin]

Originally posted by OldJeff@Oct 18 2004, 06:25 AM
For a long long time.

Still do, sort of.

Neverwinter Nights is a pretty good computer game, based on the 3 edition.

Great packaged "adventures" and the amount of stuff you can download is amazing.

Joined some online games a few times, I think there are more people there than surfing adult sites.

Everquest is another popular online FRPG, and those people are crazy. Some have paid as much as half a million for a "virtual castle"
I played Neverwinter Nights for a while. Pretty cool.

Morrowind is one I really liked.

Like Mike, I stopped playing D&D when computer games came out. I did play MUDs for a while.

[DrGuile]

Originally posted by Colin+Oct 18 2004, 06:45 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Colin @ Oct 18 2004, 06:45 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-OldJeff@Oct 18 2004, 06:25 AM
For a long long time.

Still do, sort of.

Neverwinter Nights is a pretty good computer game, based on the 3 edition.

Great packaged "adventures" and the amount of stuff you can download is amazing.

Joined some online games a few times, I think there are more people there than surfing adult sites.

Everquest is another popular online FRPG, and those people are crazy. Some have paid as much as half a million for a "virtual castle"
I played Neverwinter Nights for a while. Pretty cool.

Morrowind is one I really liked.

Like Mike, I stopped playing D&D when computer games came out. I did play MUDs for a while. [/b][/quote]
As teens, we played much more WarHarmmer than D&D... I think we needed something where we killed each others instead of cooperating...

Morrowing and NWN are quite good, Im playing the 2nd expansion for NWN now...

the Pool of Radiance remake on the other hand, was god awful.

[Bishop]

I started playing in elementry school.. I got the basic and advanced box sets one year for Christmas when I was probably 10. I was one happy kid.. Continued to play in junior high but less.. got into Axis & Allies around that time.. played often in high school and college but it usually took place when pot was nearby.

Haven't played or had the desire to play in many years.. however I still pause when I walk through a bookstore and see all the books. I remember how cool that was to me when I was a kid.

[Nickatilynx]

Originally posted by cj@Oct 17 2004, 07:42 PM
ok, we are all officially OLD!!!!!

I wasn't yet double figures old though when I played DD, so i'm still only borderlining on old :biglaugh:
No you're not all just old....you are NERDS!!!!


;-)))













I'm so old when it came along , I was already an adult :(

[Almighty Colin]

Originally posted by Nickatilynx+Oct 18 2004, 11:15 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Nickatilynx @ Oct 18 2004, 11:15 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-cj@Oct 17 2004, 07:42 PM
ok, we are all officially OLD!!!!!

I wasn't yet double figures old though when I played DD, so i'm still only borderlining on old :biglaugh:
No you're not all just old....you are NERDS!!!!


;-)))













I'm so old when it came along , I was already an adult :( [/b][/quote]
.. said the guy with a green fairy as his avatar.

[Bishop]

Originally posted by Colin+Oct 18 2004, 11:17 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Colin @ Oct 18 2004, 11:17 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> Originally posted by Nickatilynx@Oct 18 2004, 11:15 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-cj@Oct 17 2004, 07:42 PM
ok, we are all officially OLD!!!!!

I wasn't yet double figures old though when I played DD, so i'm still only borderlining on old :biglaugh:
No you're not all just old....you are NERDS!!!!


;-)))













I'm so old when it came along , I was already an adult :(
.. said the guy with a green fairy as his avatar. [/b][/quote]

Wonder how many hit points she has.. she looks like she might have a fairly high charisma rating.

[quiet]

yep, used to play all the time. also played a lot of 'Top Secret', a spy RPG from the early 80's.

[Lee]

Speaking of RPG's...

The new X-Men Legends game on the Xbox kicks-ass if anyone is after a new game :)

Gary bought it a few days ago and he hasnt had a chance to play it yet.. i dont specifically like those types of games but im hooked haha

[Almighty Colin]

"The Keep on the Borderlands". Those in the know, know.

[Jesse_DD]

Fucking Nerds!!




(Yeah, I played too - I still remember the covers of those early D&D books.)

[kath]

I wasn't allowed to play RPG's but all my friends/boyfriends did. I was always jealous at their little cliques, secret language and shared interest... *sigh* So I guess that makes me worse than a nerd... I was a wanna-be nerd. lol

A lot of guys that my hub works with play Everquest - most are old D&D guys too - and some play obsessively... I was shocked at how many hours they put in. I stopped complaining about how much time my hub spends watching sports - lol At least he isn't tying up the family computer on Everquest every waking non-working moment!

:awinky:

[Anthony]

The original Pool or Radiance was pretty good.

I miss my 14th Level Barbarian with his +3 Vorpal Battle Axe.

[DrGuile]

Originally posted by Anthony@Oct 18 2004, 02:31 PM
The original Pool or Radiance was pretty good.

Yup, that just made me that much more disapointed in the remake.

[DrGuile]

http://www.somethingawful.com/

Role Playing Corner: Celebrating Thirty Years of Forced Abstinence

Simply posting this image gives me an "in" with the D&D crowd. http://images.somethingawful.com/news/2004/10/18-dnd.jpg

Many of you, gentle readers, have probably heard of the famous (some would say infamous) role playing game "Dungeons & Dragons". This Saturday nerds and those who make their livelihood off of nerds around the world celebrated the 30th birthday of "Dungeons & Dragons". Prior to D&D the closest thing to role playing games were various tabletop strategy games. D&D creator Dave Arneson and perpetually bitter king nerd Gary Gygax transformed the little figurines into fully realized characters of a player's own imagining and catapulted gaming from table tops to character sheets.

I would like to devote today to great moments in "Dungeons & Dragons" history. You may scoff, but without the kobolds and magic missiles of D&D where would computer RPGs be today? Here's a hint: GAY ANIME ROBOT STORIES. If you prefer Nordic barbarians over huge-eyed elves with romantic problems then you should view D&D with just a modicum of respect. Just a modicum.

1974

Gygax and Arneson created the first release of the Dungeons and Dragons rule set. This version is very crude and only includes two or three tables of data on which you rolled information. Later versions, supplements, and technological advances in computer spreadsheet software further improve the game.

1975

After the success of the initial release of Dungeons and Dragons Gygax and Arneson form TSR (Tactical Studies Rules) to publish new versions of Dungeons and Dragons and future supplements. By the second edition the charts and tables inside the books have advanced from using a simple six sided craps die to two ten sided dice used to effectively determine a number from 1-100. By the third edition dice making has advanced so much that Gygax is able to harness the power of the massive 280,500 sided die for his legendary "Random Furniture Found Inside Secluded Gnome Huts" table.

1979

The first accusations surface that Dungeons and Dragons has a Satanic basis and is essentially a devil-worshipping cult. Fundamentalists Christians, the willfully ignorant, the profoundly retarded, and most but not all inanimate objects fail to recognize that Dungeons and Dragons takes sociopaths off the streets, forces them to socialize, and generally prevents crime. The Satanic cult accusations gradually diminish and then disappear entirely only to be replaced with the much more accurate "D&D leads to Dorito and Mountain Dew binges."

1982

Gygax introduces the famous THAC0 or "Thacko" statistic. It supposedly means "To Hit Armor Class Zero" although only a handful of math major college students know exactly how it applies to the game. When this statistic is later removed from the game these math majors become violently outraged.

1985

Gygax leaves TSR in a massive management shakeup. The parting is acrimonious, although the most venom comes from fans loyal to Gygax rather than the D&D brand. Immediately after Gygax leaves TSR the quality on D&D releases slips dramatically down from one chart or table every three pages to one every nine.

1989

The Dungeon Master's Guide for 2nd Edition Advanced Super Dungeons & Dragons is released in which TSR unveils its new random encounter chart that branches into 78 different randomly determined random encounter charts. Still smarting over the Gygax departure the new edition receives a lukewarm response from devoted fans and fails to generate any real buzz in the community.

1993

TSR's popularity is on the decline thanks in no small part to the failure of the desperate Robotlandia, Super Mario World, and Sex Island campaign settings. Magic: The Gathering card maker Wizards of the Coast purchases TSR near the end of the year, prompting almost as much impotent fan outrage as occurred during the Gygax imbroglio. Most of the world remains apathetic and maybe even slightly hostile towards the unfolding drama.

2000

Wizards of the Coast releases a new version of the Dungeons and Dragons rules called "3rd Edition" that uses a generic and simplified version of the original D&D rules. For some reason this sends thousands of diehard fans into an uproar which is only quieted by a staggering succession of supplements featuring all new charts and tables. One of the interesting aspects of this new rule set is that it is based around the "Open Gaming License" which allows other publishers to use the rules without paying royalties to Wizards of the Coast. Seconds after the first print run ships to distributors Furries around the Internet are developing their own campaign setting.

Present Day

Dungeons and Dragons is once again the crowned king of pen and paper role playing games. Every weekend tens of thousands of gamers file into hobby shops around the world, muscling past the overpowering legion of 9 year olds playing "Yu-Gi-Oh!" to set up a fart zone around a card table in the dingy corner where their nerd musk and hateful glare won't frighten off paying customers. Table turf fights frequently break out between D&D gamers and Warhammer 40,000 players who view their hobby as having more "street cred" (read: it's infinitesimally less emasculating).

The history of Dungeons and Dragons is long and full of triumph and tribulation, but D&D does have its undeniable dark side. Let's take a look at some of the worst things that have come about as a result of D&D.

Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor for the PC - The only PC game to ever include a bug that could format your hard drive when you uninstalled it and you would be uninstalling it about five minutes after you first played it.

Indirectly Resulted in the Book of Erotic Fantasy - Anything even peripherally associated with the most pathetic role playing supplement ever made is thrice damned. Dungeons and Dragons is much more than peripherally associated with it.

Diablo and Everquest Pen and Paper RPGS - In case Diablo and Everquest weren't derivative enough of Dungeons and Dragons for you to actually just play Dungeons and Dragons you get these two gems from Wizards of the Coast. Role a D6 for each time you click on the monster!

LARPing - Live action role playing is like pen and paper D&D, combined with paintball, minus 99% of the exercise and 100% of the dignity. On the plus side, if you're LARPing D&D at least you aren't LARPing "Vampire: The Masquerade". That would be REALLY humiliating.

Renaissance Festivals - I can't actually blame D&D for the existence of Renaissance Festivals, but I can blame it for making them much worse. Without D&D Renaissance festivals would almost be cool. Okay, not cool, but no worse than Historical Williamsburg re-enactors. As it is now every single person at a Renaissance festival either plays D&D or is married to someone who plays D&D, and you can't get that thought out of your head when you go to one. It's like showering at a gym where you know everyone is gay.

The Dungeons & Dragons Movie - I don't think I need to describe how bad this was to you; all I saw were the trailers and I nearly threw up on my lap. Of course, without D&D we wouldn't have Tom Hanks in the role the Academy sadly overlooked him for as troubled teen Robbie Wheeling in the taught psychological drama "Mazes & Monsters".

Making up for all of this: kobolds. What the hell would the world be without the kobolds? Not somewhere I would want to live, that's for sure.

[cj]

Originally posted by Nickatilynx+Oct 18 2004, 11:15 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Nickatilynx @ Oct 18 2004, 11:15 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-cj@Oct 17 2004, 07:42 PM
ok, we are all officially OLD!!!!!

I wasn't yet double figures old though when I played DD, so i'm still only borderlining on old :biglaugh:
No you're not all just old....you are NERDS!!!!


;-))) [/b][/quote]
not that there is anything WRONG with that!!!

I love running into people i went to school with ... the rumour has gone around all my year 12 class that i'm working in the porn industry. But you know how chinese whispers work ... nobody is *quite* sure what I do, they've taken it literally that i am 'in porn'!! I run into a couple of the guys from the football team at clubs occasionally, & they get all shy and start blushing :biglaugh:

geeks rock - i ditched my 'cool crowd/so called friends' when i was 16 to hang out with the nerds ... & the nerds were naughtier than the cool kids!!! it was the first time i enjoyed the social aspect of school :agrin:

& the best thing is, nobody suspects the nerds!!!! :biglaugh:

[Anthony]

I was kinda the fat short asian nerd till about 16.

[Edd]

Originally posted by Anthony@Oct 19 2004, 08:16 AM
I was kinda the fat short asian nerd till about 16.
and what are you now? :blink:

i played. more than can be listed here - and still have all the stuff.

ubergeekdom. :rokk:

[hotmama]

i really want to know that game :(

[dig420]

Originally posted by Edd+Oct 20 2004, 01:49 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Edd @ Oct 20 2004, 01:49 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-Anthony@Oct 19 2004, 08:16 AM
I was kinda the fat short asian nerd till about 16.
and what are you now? :blink:

i played. more than can be listed here - and still have all the stuff.

ubergeekdom. :rokk: [/b][/quote]
now he's a tall, muscular Jiu Jitsu nerd ;)

[Anthony]

Originally posted by dig420+Oct 20 2004, 11:49 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (dig420 @ Oct 20 2004, 11:49 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> Originally posted by Edd@Oct 20 2004, 01:49 PM
<!--QuoteBegin-Anthony@Oct 19 2004, 08:16 AM
I was kinda the fat short asian nerd till about 16.
and what are you now? :blink:

i played. more than can be listed here - and still have all the stuff.

ubergeekdom. :rokk:
now he's a tall, muscular Jiu Jitsu nerd ;) [/b][/quote]
Hahahahaha, beat me to it.